Eddies
by Kraven Ergeist
Summary: King of Bandits X Kino's Journey Cross Over :: What happens when two paths cross?


**Cross Over Fan Fiction – Kino's Travels & King of Bandits Jing**

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_Eddies_

His first inclination was to speak up as she passed him. In the months of time he had been wandering, his tongue had grown dry. But something stopped him. Something in the eyes or air or the eddies of the river light that surrounded them spoke to him with an almost quizzical message.

He watched her as she moved by him; she was small, quaint, unnoticeable. The type of person you'd never pick out from a crowd. But Jing was nothing if not observant. The way she strode, motorrad in tow, her face, her eyes, seemed almost too dark to see or understand. The calm look of acceptance, the knowledge of direction, of purpose. She pitched forward, unfettered, content in her meaning.

He saw confidence. But he also saw humility.

He saw compassion. But he also saw indifference.

He saw steel. But he also saw heart.

He saw age. But he also saw naiveté.

He saw strength. But he also saw tears.

xxxxx

Many had passed her by in her time. Many more were destined to follow. She did not at first notice the raven haired boy who crossed her path. She was always prepared to handle people as they came – the friendly with kindness, the merchants with fair trade, the malicious with gunfire, and fellows with acknowledgement of their kinship.

Kino was a traveler. The people she meets – forgotten all. The world around her – empty and full of life. Her repetitious methods marred by the strangers she met and the towns where they lived.

She looked up.

The cloaked figure stepped easily, his hands in his pockets, his eyes cast forward. He did not wield a peacemaker – the lack of weight in his step told her that much. Just a knife he kept under his sleeve. Whether he was friend, foe, or fellow traveler, she could not deduce based on what little information her instincts could tell her.

Then she noticed the black bird on his shoulder, its eyes piercing, its grinning smirk mocking her. A pet? No, this bird acted on its own accord. It had a will on its own, its eyes beaming with intelligence. A being like that was more than a follow – it was a companion.

A partner.

Kino squeezed her grip on Hermes' handlebars tightly. Everyone needed a partner.

She took her gaze off the bird on back on the boy.

His eyes had steered off the road and thrown a peculiar gaze in her direction. His face was unmarred by tension or intent. But at the same time, his gaze hit her harder than that of the birds, his own intelligence laughing at her through those shimmering eyes.

Kino felt her mouth go dry.

xxxxx

Jing didn't know what to make of this traveler. She clearly was a traveler – her cloak, hood, goggles and motorrad told him all that and more. He'd seen those like her before, but never one quite so…peaceful.

He was surprised that Kir had not spoken up by now. Usually, the bird let his mouth do the talking, and made a habit of voicing his opinions, particularly about women. But it struck him that this particular girl was not the kind that Kir normally sought. Kir, shallow minded as he was, only focused on outward beauty. But his silence now clearly reflected that he lacked the mindset (at least for humans) to detect true inner beauty.

Jing felt compelled to smile as her eyes came up to meet his. That is what he saw behind that gaze – inner beauty. The kind of human being who looked at the world and saw it only for what it was. Curiosity, open mindedness, a stiff resolve to principles, but still, willing to let go and laugh from time to time.

Girls like this were few and far between.

xxxxx

Where he came from, where he was going, or what he did in either locale, all remained a mystery. Normally, though punctuated by her abnormal politeness, Kino never hesitated to question when the inclination arose. But something about the boy left her blissfully silent. As though eyes spoke louder than tongues.

He was a man without a care in the world.

He wanted everything and he desired nothing. He sought to gain and aimed to give. He traveled like she did, saw what he saw, and made his decision as to how much he would interfere.

He never touched more than he was supposed to.

xxxxx

And she never stayed longer than she had to.

She was wayward, passing with the wind, coming and going as he did. What she gained through her travels was nothing of material wealth, though respect in her eyes for her dependency on the resources of the world were clear.

She was a woman who saw in order to see.

Perhaps, in her travels, she had seen the towns that he had, the creatures he'd seen, the oddities he'd encountered, fought the battle he'd won, survived the one's he'd lost. Maybe her experiences included some treasure that he might find on his journey.

xxxxx

Maybe his insight could reveal to her an answer to the question she had long been asking the world.

His smile made her feel good inside. He exuded confidence, and swaggered in that same playful manner that children do who think they can conquer the world. But he was rimmed with the same experiences she had – that life didn't always work out the way you planned.

No doubt Hermes had noticed her reaction by now. Why he hadn't inquired about it was a mystery, as he normally never missed the opportunity to poke fun at her. Perhaps the subtle connection established between her and this thief – for that is what he clearly was – was beyond the motorrad's comprehension.

This boy was unlike any she had seen. She had met few other travelers in her time – some had welcomed her along on their journey, others had excluded her outright. This one simply let it hang, the option to break the silence ever present above them

xxxxx

Jing didn't slow his pace any noticeable amount as they passed. He did, however, turn his head ever so slightly so as to let the girl know that she had caught his attention. She offered him back the faintest of smiles, one that did not answer a question, but merely stood for itself, replying in its own way the simply acknowledgement of one traveler passing another.

What words needed to be said? She had her journey, and he had his. Neither belonged in the other's world, and that smile would be all that existed between them. But that smile represented so much – the knowledge that life still had a long way to go. That there would be mountains to climb, tunnels to dig, seas to cross, and places to go.

But no matter where their journey took them, they would continue on, past whatever they came across. Each destination would give them something to take with them. And each destination claimed something from them in return.

xxxxx

And so she walked, matching his gaze as he passed her, acknowledging that their paths had crossed, and probably might never again. The world was massive, and their journeys were theirs to be had.

xxxxx

He wondered if he should have spoken out of turn, broken the silence, and discovered more from the strange girl he had passed. Not where she had come from, nor where she was going. But merely, what she had planned when she got there. But Jing supposed it was self-evident. Travelers travel for their own reasons.

His was to steal.

xxxxx

Hers was to see.

And no matter where they went, what they took with them, what they left behind…

xxxxx

They would always have their partners by their side.

"Hey Jing, did you see that girl?" Kir squawked. "She was totally checking me out!"

Jing kept walking.

"What was that all about, Kino?" Hermes questioned. "You got so tense all the sudden."

Kino continued on her way.

They both had a journey to get to.

Those journeys lay down separate paths.

But pathways meet and cross and intersect however the eddies flow.

And so the world goes.

END

xxxxx

This is my first real crossover fic. When I saw the character Postino in King of Bandits, I thought to myself, "That looks exactly like the motorrad from Kino's Journey." And so I wrote this fic of two people from totally different worlds crossing paths and realizing that they are not so different after all.


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